Intaglio print.



H. LEE.

INTAGLIO PRINT. APPLICAUON FILED mums, I9I5.

1,299,484. Patented Apr. 8,1919.

wi bvmoo HOM R LEE, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

INTAGLIO PRINT.

Application filed June 18, 1915.

York city, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Intaglio Prints, of which'the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a method and result in intaglio printing, more especially as employed in bank notes, Government notes, stocks and bonds, whereby attempts at reproduction by forgery are notpossible. 7 At the present time, certain methods have been devised wherein intaglio printed matter may be reproduced with all of the ac curacy of the original, not only as to size, definition, intensity, and accuracy, but also as to the peculiarities in respect to the cuttings of the graver tool in the original, which may all be reproduced with faithful accuracy, and this too, without the employment of photography, hand-engraving or any necessity of costly appliances. So perfeet is the reproduction possible that experts are not able to distinguish the difierence between the original and the reproduction. As such reproduction makes forgery within easy accomplishment of a man of ordinary intelligence and without the necessity of costly appliances such as required in photoengraving and photo-mechanical processes, it becomes vitally necessary to provide some means whereby reproduced intaglio printing by forgery can be prevented and hence make it impossible for forgers to utilize their knowledge in attempted production of spurious bank notes, bonds, stocks, etc.

Intaglio printing whether performed by mechanical devices or by hand-engraving, provides cuts of more or less deepness, and which in cases of extended black areas are widened by numerous cuts of the graverwhich produces a more or less roughened bottom to the depression. The ink is-forced into the recesses thus engraved in the polished surface of the plate, and after the plate has had the unengraved. surfaces cleaned of ink, an impression is taken by pressing the paper upon the plate and causing the ink within the grooves and recesses to adhere to the surface of the paper, and to adhere to and be removed by the paper when the same is stripped from the plate. The ink thus re moved will be found to constitute ridges of Specification of Letters Patent! engraving processes.

Patented Apr. 8', 1919.

Serial lid-34,822.

various widths, shapes and depths arranged in the inverse form to the recesses or depressions cut into the plate, and having upon its surface all of the characteristics of the engraved surfaces in the plate. If a reproduction were to be made by hand-work, it is manifest that the same cuttings would hardly be possible, and therefore an accurate counterpart could not be made by hand- It is possible, however, asabove pointed out, to so reproduce not only the surface arrangement of the ink upon the papeiybut also to reproduce these ridges in cross section with definite accuracy, that some means must be'provided to insure the safety of financial paper against the acts of forgers who may become possessed with an intimate knowledge of these lately-developed methods of reproduction, and it is the primary object of my present invention to so carry out the act of printing in intaglio that a reproduction by counterfeiting of the said intaglio printing will fail of its purpose by reason of the fact that a true reproduction in appearance to the eye could not be made. On the other hand, an attempted reproduction will produce a plate, the printing from which will 'be so disfigured as compared to the artistic finish of the original printing, that no serious compari son could be made of the two but that the most ignorant personwould readily recognize the attempted forgery; so pronounced is this that no forger would even attempt to resort to a forgery under such circumstances.

That my invention may be better understood, and its distinction, over the prior method of intaglio printing be appreciated, I will first briefly indicate the method of making forged reproductions from intaglio work, and then point out how my improvements may prevent the possibility of such forgery I In making a reproduction, the ink of the intaglio printis by certain methods transferred upon a'glass plate and all of the paper which formerly held the lines removed. The transparency thus formed ofthe exact intaglio ink lines which formerly were upon 105 the paper is then employed in forming a metal plate of the exact counterpart; and for obvious reasons I do not here enter into the details of this process of the making; of the transparency and the preparation; of-;the

ings embodying by invention.

Incarrying out my improved process of intaglio printing, I cause to be laid upon the paper two impresslons from two plates both by intaglio' printing, and hence both 15 laying raised lines of pigment upon the surface of the paper, said'lines of one printing being superimposed upon the lines of the other; but in so doing, the lines B 9f the first impression are made in a substantially white or practically invisible pigment, and moreover are preferably of a fine design which would largely cover the surface of the paper A,'whereas the lines 0, C, C of the .second printing deposits upon the paper 25 and previously printed surfaces of the white or invisible pigment B and constitutes the bold intaglio printing including all of the vignette, machine borders, script and other marks of designation required for the particular security which is intended to be represented by the printing. In this man her, the artistic design of the printing such as is'now carried on in printing securities, maybe followed in all of its detail, as the substantiallywhite or practically invisible intaglio printing forming the base or groundover which the secondary printing-is made in noway interferes with-the artistic finish as a whole. The structural efiect, however, of the invisible printing B upon the paper is present so that when any attempt ismade to transfer the intaglio printed lines of the security-in makinga reproduction or forgery, the plate which would be reproduced would contain not only the recesses 6 corresponding to the original plate from which the invisible printing was performed, but also recesses C, C, C etc., of the plate or plates from which the artistic and other printing was made to designate the nature and value of the security, and it is there fore manifest that when a reproduced print 7 isrmade from such a plate, the artistic deinvisible pigment of' the original.

The primary printing in the substantially invisible pigment may be accomplished by the use of a large number of fine lines, so great in number that they would almost obliterate the design of the secondary printing when a spurious reproduction was attempted to be made in printing, and yet in the original these numerous fine lines would in no manner act as an objection and would not be noticed except by a close examination of the printed surface. Furthermore, the welding .of thexpigments used for the invisible printing and the bold printing is insured by reason of the fact that in modern intaglio work where several printings are required, whether back or front or different colors upon different portions, the paper after being once properly moistened is maintained in the moistened condition between printings by being placed between parafiin paper or pads which, While prevening the escape of the moisture, permit the inks to set sufiiment is still in a sufficiently plastic condition to readily'weld into the pigment of the bold printing in black or dark color found on all securities. This welding of the pigments would make it practically impossible, even with the most laborious effort, for a forger to pick apart the deposited pigments in-theattempt of reproduction. 1 -In' placeof making aspecial plate for printingv the invisible intaglio printing for each individual security whichdstobe made, the factthat because the pigment-is white, cream or substantially invisible, or at least unobjectionable in so farasit may produce a tint tothe surface of the paper, such intaglio ground to the paper-Tray be made on the papersheets'oriroll of paper as a preliminary operation and covering the entire surface thereof wherethe quantity of the work is largvit In this jmanner the said preliminary printing would be-lessfexpensi-ve and would provide a paper whichfmay' be subsequently ciit up into the "desired shapes for the various securiti'esto be spe cial'ly printed as'may be required, and this preliminary printing of the entiresurfaceof the paper may be done immediatelybefore the paper is tobe used in thesubsequent' printing "operations so that the-same moisture therein may be employed, or the said paper may be so-preparedand 'subsequently employed ata later'period byremoistening before the second printing,'if so desired. When the paper is preparedjin sheets of rolls in this manner-'fwith'theinvisible in-- ta'glioi surface, this" intaglio prepared sur face'will cover not only the artisticand' bold' printing in black or colors of the security,

but will also extend to the extreme marginal edges of the security and thus make the reproduction by the attempted forgery radically different in its general appearance, since the entire surface of the reproduction would be blurred and mottled by the printing due to reproduction of the invisible intaglio surface of the original. It is also to be understood that while I have referred to the invisible intaglio printing as being in lines, it may be merely as a stipplework, and in this respect it may be so dense that the effect of the secondary printing would be almost entirely blotted out in any attempt at forgery, and yet in the original printing the artistic finish of the present recognized type of steel and copper plate engraving would be present in all or substantially all of its beauty and sharpness.

While I have described my invention especially in connection with the intaglio white pigment or safety printing for use in connection with intaglio printing of bank notes, stocks, bonds, stamps, and other securities, I wish also to be understood as employing the white or substantially invisible pigment intaglio printing as a means of guarding against forgery in cases where the bold or defining printing of the security is printed in any suitable manner, whether wholly by intaglio or Wholly by surface printing such as type or lithograph or combinations of in taglio and these, irrespective of the colors employed, as in all cases the white pigment may be employed without deterioration of the other printing, and yet it would prevent the reproduction of intaglio duplicates without detection, and would enforce a combination of processes to be employed by the forger to make the composite of both intaglio and surface printing in the security, even where the intaglio printing did not of itself perform any definite function in the artistic design or designation of the character of the security. It will be noted that where the white pigment is printed as a base or ground, the surface printing would be imposed upon this intaglio ground and consequently would differ in material respects from those cases where a surface printing was first made'upon the paper and intaglio printing in black or color upon it. My invention is not to be limited by the particular modifications of the character of the printing which is employed to designate the value or character of the security, although its most effective advantages would no doubt be in the cases of where the character or value of the security was to be bold-intaglio printing in black or dark color or combinations of these, and which were underlaid with my improved substantially invisible intaglio printmg;

Where I use the term strongly pronounced color in the claims, I include therein dark colors and black which are in great contrast to the ink-of relatively invisible character which forms the under printing. a

My improvements are equally useful in protecting specially printed railroad tickets, revenue and custom stamps, cigar and cigarette and tobacco stamps, etc.

While I have referred to the primary printing as being done in a white orpractically invisible pigment, it is also to be understood that this pigment may be translucent instead of opaque if so desired, but while such translucency would not be of any appreciable benefit where the invisible print ing was performed upon the paper as the primary act, such translucency would, however, be of particular benefit where the principles of my invention were carried to the extent of being applied to existing securities which were required to be protected by use of my present invention, for in this case the invisible printing would be printed upon the present black or other bold printing of the security and thereby provide the superimposed intaglio lines crossing each other in such a manner that any attempt at reproducing the one will simultaneously reproduce the other, and then upon reproduction would produce the combination of the two in the bold printing and thus make forgery impossible. In a case such as the reprinting of existing bonds or securities with a translucent or transparent pigment, the lines may be reasonably far apart and fine so as not to objectionably mar the brilliancy of the original printing, but this is a matter to suit the wish of the owners of the securities and protection should in all cases dominate any aesthetic desire of the parties controlling the issue of the securities.

I donot restrict myself to the particular character of the pigments employed, nor to the particular tints, but in the most preferred adaptation of my invention, the more invisible the pigment of the primary printing the more satisfactory will be the results, not only in respect to the prevention against forgery, but in permitting the most satisfactory and artistic effects to be maintained in the original intaglio work, while at the same time insuring a maximum of security against forgery.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A bank note, bond or other security, consisting of a sheet of paper having an underlying printing of light lines in intaglio and in a pigment of a relatively invisible character, and a superposed or overlying printing of heavier lines in intaglio and in strongly pronounced color designating the nature of the security, said printing including the border vignettes and such other matter as may be required and in all parts underlaid by the first stated printing in the-pigment of relatively invisible character.

2. A bank note, bond or other security, consisting of a sheet of paper having two intagliov printings superposed one upon the other, the under printing being relatively unobtrusive to sight and not of a defining character and the upper printing including the border, vignettes and other designating matters being in strongly pronounced color and clearlydefining as to the character of the security and further in every part underlaid by the first mentioned printing.

. 3. A bank note, bond, or other security,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for havingits surface printed in intaglio a plurality of times, the successive printings being superposed, one of said printings being in a translucent pigment and the remaining printing in strongly pronounced color to define the character of the security.

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my hand.

HOMER LEE.

itnesses CELIA M. .KAMEN, A. A. HARTMANN, E. D. H. CARLETON.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

